Photos: Female firsts in sports

Updated 8:26 PM ET, Wed February 20, 2013

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Female firsts in sports – Danica Patrick on February 17 became the first woman to win the pole position for the Daytona 500, considered the Super Bowl of NASCAR. Look back at other milestones for women who have been breaking barriers in sports.

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Female firsts in sports – University of New Mexico kicker Katie Hnida, No. 2, attempts an extra point against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 25, 2002, becoming the first woman to play in a Division I-A football game. The kick was blocked, but she later became the first woman to score points in college football's top division.

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Female firsts in sports – Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks records the first slam dunk in women's professional basketball during a game against the Miami Sol on July 30, 2002, in Los Angeles.

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Female firsts in sports – Pitcher Ila Borders of the Duluth Dukes became the first woman to win a men's pro baseball game on July 24, 1998, against the Sioux Falls Canaries in Duluth, Minnesota. She was also the first woman to earn a college baseball scholarship.

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Female firsts in sports – Jockey Julie Krone rides Colonial Affair across the finish line to win the Belmont Stakes on June 5, 1993. She was the first woman to win a Triple Crown race.

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Female firsts in sports – Goalie Manon Rheaume of the Tampa Bay Lightning defends the net during an NHL preseason game against the St. Louis Blues in Tampa on September 23, 1992. She was the first female to play in an NHL game.

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Female firsts in sports – Nancy Lieberman poses for a portrait in the 1990s while playing for the women's U.S. national basketball team. In June 1986, she became the first woman to play men's professional basketball with her United States Basketball League debut in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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Female firsts in sports – Janet Guthrie stands in front of her car before the Winston Cup Daytona 500 race on February 20, 1977. Later that year she became the first woman to drive in the Indy 500.

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Female firsts in sports – Billie Jean King holds up her trophy after defeating Bobby Riggs during the Battle of the Sexes tennis match in Houston on September 20, 1973. She became the first woman to beat a man in a professional tennis match.

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Female firsts in sports – Jockey Diane Crump exercises her horse in 1968. She became the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 1970.

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Female firsts in sports – Italian race car driver Maria Teresa de Filippis is seen at the wheel of a Maserati in 1958. She was the first woman to compete in a Formula One race.

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Female firsts in sports – Babe Didrikson Zaharias putts in circa 1945. She became the first female to play on the men's PGA Tour in the Los Angeles Open on January 7, 1938. She was also an Olympic gold medalist in track and field.

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Female firsts in sports – Betty Robinson, left, wins the women's 100-meter final during the Olympic Games in Amsterdam on July 31, 1928. It was the first time the Olympics included athletic events for women, making her the first woman to win gold.

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Female firsts in sports – Gertrude Ederle wades into the water on her way to becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel, which she did in 14 hours and 31 minutes, breaking the previous men's record.